There Always Comes A Time
by hannahleigh
Summary: Continues from Eclipse. Edward and Bella tell Charlie about the Wedding, and everything seems smooth running. But then something happens, something big. Will Bella be strong enough? I have no Beta, constructive critisism is always apprediated! R&R thanks!
1. Charlie

"Bella, love? We're here." I heard whispered in my ear. "Are you sure you want to do this?" his gaze was so hard to fight off, I was drowning in it.

"Please don't try to talk me out of this. I need to do this now, or else I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to do this." I sighed, trying to put on a brave face. The desperation was really showing in my voice now. Edward sighed, kissing my forehead. He didn't say anything, just merely looked into my eyes one last time before swinging himself out the car door, and instantaneously appearing at the other side of the car, holding his arm out for me. He knew me too well; the last thing on my mind was my balance.

He held me as I wobbled to the front door of Charlie's house. "Everything will be alright. Just remember that" he mumbled into my hair as he swept me into a strong embrace.

And with one strong push, I heaved the door open, cringing at what we were about to do.

"Bella, is that you?" I heard from the living room.

"Yeah, Ch- Dad, it's me. And Edward. Um, do you think we could talk to you for a moment?" I called, twisting the ring on my finger impatiently,

"Uh, sure. Is everything okay?" I could hear the worry in his voice. Damn it, this was going to be harder than I thought.

Edward was watching me intently, and I gave him a quick nod to say I was okay. It was time. We wandered up the stairs, meeting Charlie on the landing.

"Um, where do you want to talk?" he asked nervously.

"How about the dining area? Come along, now." Edward said fluidly, trying to break the awkwardness.

I felt so out of place, so I stumbled up to the table and sat down. Fidgeting with my ring again, fingering the diamond. At once, Charlie's eyes bulged with understanding.

"You… you're… is that… ring… Edward…" he spluttered. It looked like he was having an aneurism. "You're eighteen for god's sake, Bella!"

I felt the tears build up in my eyes. I pleaded with him "please, Dad, just let us explain…" I felt the salty liquid flow down my cheeks freely now.

"There's something to EXPLAIN?" he burst out, slamming his palm against the table making it shudder "You're…. you're…. pregnant?" he almost whispered the word, as if it was cancerous. I almost giggled; I didn't know what to say.

"Please…. Dad, of course I'm not. But Edward and I love each other! Seeing as we plan to spend the rest of our…" I paused, almost saying _existence_, giving us away "…lives together, we may as well do this. We feel it's the right thing to do." I was distraught, begging him silently.

We all sat there for a moment, though it felt like a decade. I was still twisting my ring around my delicate finger, and Edward stroked it, instantly calming me. Charlie noticed this little action, still opening and closing his mouth like a blowfish, trying to form a sentence.

"Charlie, I know this is difficult for you, but you must understand that I love Bella, and I would never let anything happen to her. Please, be happy for us?" Edward put his arm a round me, comforting me as he said this. Charlie started to calm down, although I could still see he wasn't going to give in that easily.

"Edward… you're only eighteen, too! I'm her Father, I'm supposed to look after her!" he said, barely concealing the frustration in his voice.

"To me, it feels like I've been waiting a hundred years for Bella" Edward said, smiling at his in joke, " and I'm not about to let go of her…" that was evident, my arms were starting to hurt where he was holding me.

I sat there a moment longer, trying to decide whether I should beg or threaten my Father. I went for both.

"Dad, this is what makes me happy, and if you love me, you'll want me to be happy too. And remember, I'm old enough to move out, and I'm always welcome at Edwards." He noticed the threat, and backed off, running his fingers through his hands. At that moment, he looked very frail.

"I think you should go now." Charlie whispered, afraid.

"Dad, please…" I could feel myself tearing up again, and decided to do as he said. Edward supported me again, and we left. I glanced over my shoulder one last time, and saw Charlie bend over, his head in his hands. I could see I had hurt him, but it needed to be done.

"Bella, I'm so proud of you." Edward whispered in my ear once we got into the truck.

"Please, let's just go home now…" I said, marvelling at the word home, sniffling like a 5 year old into Edward's muscular shoulder.

"That sounds like a good idea to me" he muttered into my hair, and we drove off to my new home, awaiting the inevitable.


	2. Discussion

Edward opened the door for me, and swept me inside. I could see all the Cullen's there; all except Rosalie. She obviously wasn't too happy about us getting married. I couldn't say I was too ecstatic at that moment, either. Alice ran to me, taking my weight from Edward and hugging me close. I hugged back, unable to speak.

"Come on, I'll take you up to our room" Edward said to me, his family looking sympathetic.

"I like that idea" I sniffled as he picked me up and we flew up the stairs. He kicked open the door, almost pushing it off its hinges with the force, and lay me gently on the bed.

"I just need a minute to calm down." I muttered, slightly embarrassed at myself.

"Hmmm, I can help with that." Edward whispered into my ear. He gently lifted my face up to his eye level, and gazed into my eyes, instantly calming me. He leant forward, giving me one, small kiss on the lips. As usual, he pulled away too soon. "You're going to be Isabella Marie _Cullen_" he chuckled, the pleasure obvious in his voice.

"Oh, please don't say that out loud!" I gasped, my hand over my mouth. I thought about it a little more, and changed my mind.

"Actually, I quite like it. Edward and Bella _Cullen_. The same name, the way it should be"

Edward chuckled again. "I love the way you act when you're emotional. So temperamental." I opened my mouth to argue, but at that moment, my phone rang.

"Are you going to get that?" he asked. I glared back, flicking the phone to my ear. It was Charlie.

"Bells, I'm sorry. I really am. Can we please just talk about this?" he said before I could get a word out. That was unusual; talking about personal things was not something Charlie liked to do, but he was desperate.

"Well, we can talk about whether you'd like to walk me down the isle, or if I need to ask Phil. Because we are getting married, and that's not negotiable." I replied, my voice becoming stronger with each word.

Charlie sighed "I know. I've… I've decided that if it's what you really want, then fine. But bells..." his voice became weary, barely audible, "Please think about this carefully. Your mother and I… we were young, and went on a whim. I just want you to be happy."

"Of course this is going to make me happy! Why else would I be doing this?" I was outraged.

"Bella, calm down. I'm just not sure if I can cope, if you can cope if he leaves again. When he left, he took my little girl with him." He whispered the last sentence. Edward must've heard what he said, too, because his expression became pained.

"Dad, that won't happen again. I _promise_. This is the real thing, I love him. He loves me."

"I know he does, and I do too. I just don't want to loose my little girl…. We haven't exactly spent much time together, what with your mother and I. I hope I made up for it."

"You did, Dad. Love you." I whispered.

"Well, okay bells. Talk to you later." He sighed, then hung up the phone. I turned to Edward. He had a sympathetic expression on his face, and when I tried to smile cautiously, he gave the biggest grin and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"I love you so much, Isabella Marie Cullen." He kissed the ring on my finger, each fingertip, and worked his way up until he was eye level with me. I couldn't help but feel his happiness too, and let out a girly giggle as he pulled me off the bed and swung me into his arms, like a child. "Are you ready?" he asked.

I was confused, "for what?" I asked.

"To tell everyone, of course. We're getting married!" he yelled down the stairs, jubilant.

"You know what. I am ready. Let's go! The time has come" I yelled with him, and we ran down the stairs to spread our good news.


	3. Dinner

"I shouldn't have caved. I should of stood my ground, and said 'no, you crazy vampire, you're not organising my wedding'" I grumbled as Alice pulled and tucked the gorgeous lace dress that hung from my body.

"Oh stop your whinging" she muttered, her words muffled from the pins clenched between her teeth. "I would've got my way no matter what, but I thought it was better if you thought you had a choice. And besides, this dress looks _stunning_ on you"

She wasn't wrong; it was perfect. Draping elegantly to the floor with a strapless lace bodice which gave me ample cleavage, it made me look and feel just as beautiful as I knew Edward would be.

"Well… fine." I said, barely concealing a grin. "But remember my rules about the ceremony." I said, reminding her of my warning.

She sighed. "No ice sculptures, no chocolate fountains, no doves…." She ticked them off her fingers as she went. "Anything I've forgotten?" she asked with mock innocence.

"I'm sure lots of things, but those are the major ones. And I hope you didn't invite too many people! I don't want every last weirdo who was in my 5th grade class at my wedding."

"Don't you worry about a thing, it's all been arranged. Don't you feel nervous? This is your final fitting, remember!"

"What?! How many days have we got left?" I was shocked, the date catching me off guard.

"10th October, the weddings only two days away. Edward told me not tell you, he thought you would panic." She looked sheepish, averting her eyes.

I grumbled incoherently about Edward being overprotective, and tried to leave the room.

"You're not getting away that easily. We still have to do your make- up, your nails, your hair…" she rambled on while I silently slipped out of the room.

Once I was safely in the corridor, I leaned against the wall and sighed. This was what I wanted to do, I knew that, but it was taking a lot of patience on my part. I walked down to Edward's room, _our _room, and carefully changed into a pair of old jeans and t-shirt. It was rather difficult, and afterwards I hung the dress at the back of the closet where I knew Edward wouldn't look.

There was a knock on the door. "Are you decent?"

"Yes. And what's this about the wedding date?" I asked, trying to hide the irritation in my voice.

Edward moved towards me and reached out to give me a hug. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like being left out of things, but I didn't want you to stress." He held my chin in his hands and kissed me.

I pulled away, saying "Don't think you're getting away that easily. You're still in trouble."

Edward had an expression of mock innocence. "That's terrible. Lock me up and throw away the key. Or…"

All of a sudden we were on the bed, his hands shackling my wrists.

"Am I in trouble now?" I asked, kissing his neck. He sighed, and reached out to twirl my hair. I caught his hand and kissed it.

He rolled over, sighing. "We can't do this now… Alice is looking for you."

Damn it, my clever escape wasn't so clever. "Please Edward, it's torture. She painted my toenails!" I said, pulling my leg up to show him the deep red polish, his eyes lingering longer that necessary.

"Hmmm, well I'll see what I can do." With that he quickly left he room, and I heard quite muttering in the corridor. It sounded like Edward didn't want me to hear what he was saying.

"Well, that's sorted. You're free for now, but she wants to do your hair tomorrow." He said as he walked back into the room.

I sighed. "Alice?" I called, knowing she would still be outside the door, listening.

"Yes?" she replied, walking in sheepishly.

"I really don't care what you do with my hair, as long as you do it nicely on the day. No practises." I said as forcefully as I could.

She gave Edward one final desperate glance, but he was on my side, chuckling. "Fine then. But you're giving me free reign here, and it's not my fault if you don't like it." With that she turned on her heel and left the room.

"So what are we doing tonight? Remember you're not allowed to see the bride tomorrow; it's the day before the wedding." I reminded him, even though I knew he would be watching me in Alice's thoughts.

"Well, I thought I would cook you dinner actually."

"You, Cooking? But you don't eat food." I said, surprised.

He chuckled. "That doesn't mean I haven't been practising for you."

I threw my arms around my neck and kissed him. He took this as a thank you gesture, and kissed back, lifting my feet off the floor.

………..

The rest of the Afternoon went past in a blur, until all of a sudden Edward called to me "Dinner is served."

I hadn't been allowed in the Dining Room or Kitchen, so I had no idea what was waiting for me. He followed me into the Dining Room where I found a beautifully candle lit table for two. It was so romantic; I stared for a while, choking on my words.

"Thank you." I managed to whisper after a minute. "It's beautiful. I wish I had dressed up."

"Never mind that, you always look beautiful." He said, pulling me gently towards the table. He pulled out a chair for me, and we sat down. Just as we were settled, Jasper bustled in carrying a silver platter with our entrée of Leek Soup. It was delicious.

"Did you really cook all this yourself?" I asked.

"Yes. I've been reading through your cook books at Charlie's, and they didn't look hard. I'm glad you like it, I didn't want to taste test it myself. Human food, bleugh." He said, pulling a face.

The rest of the dinner was a total success, and it was soon quite late. I yawned, and Edward caught me.

"Don't think I've forgotten you need your sleep." He said, standing up. "Let's go up to our room." He suggested. I thought that was a brilliant idea.

He carried me up the stairs, and laid me gently on the bed. I snuggled into the feather pillows, quite comfortable.

"You're quite adorable when you're tired." Edward chuckled at me, pulling himself next to me.

"Mmmmm." I mumbled, the pillow muffling my voice even more.

"Sleep well, my love. The next time we will see each other will be our wedding day." He said, kissing my forehead. That sounded quite scary, but I snuggled closer to him, putting my arm around him and falling asleep instantly on him cold chest.


	4. Without Edward

Without Edward, even for one day, I felt like a shadow. I got up, ate and went to bed. I moved when directed, spoke when spoken to and generally did what I was told. The next morning I woke up to the sunshine streaming through the window, and more pleasantly Edward lying next to me, his head propped up in his hand. I sighed, and he chuckled at me. I knew I should've been nervous because it was the day of the wedding, but I never could if he was there.

"Good morning. Yesterday was hell without you; I hope Alice didn't make it the same for you." He said, pressing his lips to my forehead.

"I'm not really supposed to be here now. I should be with Emmett and Carlisle getting ready."

"Don't go yet, I haven't finished with you." I murmured, kissing him back.

He sighed and rolled over. "Sorry, I do actually need to go. See you later, Mrs. Cullen.

I groaned, and was about to roll over and get some more sleep when I heard a voice saying "You didn't think you were getting away that easily, did you?"

Of course. It was Alice.

She giggled and plopped herself next to me.

"Now you know I've been very patient, letting you off yesterday. But today is the day, and you promised I could have some fun. So get up, let's get you looking gorgeous."

She was so excited that I couldn't help but feel it too. Letting out a small giggle, I dragged myself up.

"So what method of torture have you decided upon today?" I teased.

Alice rolled her eyes dramatically. "Well first off, we'll get you showered, scrubbed and generally sparkling. Then it's off to the beauty department where you'll get the package deal."

"Which is?" I was curious and also slightly scared.

"Hair, make up, nails… this is going to be so much fun!" she squealed at me.

I got up slowly and pulled myself towards Alice's vast tiled bathroom. The shower was steaming hot; just what I needed. I grabbed a towel and headed out into Alice's room where she was waiting for me. She declared that I would do, and pulled me towards the vast shelf of cosmetics.

"What are all of these?" It looked like she had bought an entire mall.

"Well one must always be prepared. You never know when you'll need…" she pulled a random tube off the shelf and read "'Instant Rewind Anti-Ageing Foundation.'"

I laughed. "Yes, I can see how that would be handy, especially as you don't age." She repressed a giggle.

"Okay, stop having fun at my expense and prepare to play Barbie."

"Guinea Pig Barbie, my favourite." I groaned.

I'd barely closed my mouth when she began smearing some putrid smelling mousse on my face. It was sticky, lumpy and… green. I gulped, glad my mouth was closed; I felt as though I was about to throw up. I sat there for awhile, allowing her to continue as I gagged.

"Alice, um… what is that coagulated paste you are smearing on me?" I asked once confident the only thing coming out of my mouth would be words.

She laughed, holding a mirror out to me. I took it from her, afraid to look at my face. When I did, it was just as terrible as I had thought; my face had been swapped for a green blob with eye holes. Then all of a sudden, my face was on fire and Alice was holding the blob like green mask; a perfect cast of my face.

I sat there for a few seconds, absorbing the pain. "Ouch." I whispered after awhile. It felt like a layer of my skin had been ripped off.

"Don't worry, the stinging will die down after a few moments." I could already feel the sensation dulling. "It's a refining mask; it pulls off the dead skin cells and leaves the fresh, new skin underneath."

So she really did rip a layer of my skin off. I gritted my teeth and relaxed my jaw; I was getting quite frustrated.

"Alice. I said you could do what you wanted with me, but please can you try to be reasonable? Just put the damn make up on me."

She sighed, realising her fun was short lived. And then she was off. Grabbing quite a few bottles from the shelf along with a little bag of beauty tools, she pulled and plucked, wiped and brushed. I sat there with my eyes closed, the butterfly's in my stomach growing with anticipation of what was going to happen today.

And then I was done. My skin flawless, my eyes shimmering blue. I was being lead into another smaller room, where my wedding dress was laid out for me. Alice helped me into the tight corset, and then zipped the dress up at the side, tucking away the seam. She stood back, appreciating her work. There was the strangest look on her face, so I looked in the mirror to see what she did.

I gasped, it was amazing. The dress was as perfect as I knew it was, but the make up set off the miniature crystals sewn in intricate patterns, sparkling in the sun. I looked beautiful, and I couldn't believe I was admitting that to myself.

Alice noticed the expression of wonder on my face, and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Oh Bella! Thank you so much for making Edward happy." She whispered into my ears, her voice distort with emotion. "Welcome to the family."

I liked the sound of that. She wove her arm around my waist and led me back to her room where she quickly set my hair in rollers, just as she had done the night of the school prom. I could feel the heat of them against my scalp, but I held my tongue. And then she was gently pulling them out, and I felt the soft hair cascading around my shoulders.

"It's amazing what you can do, Alice. Maybe you were Miss World in a former life." I giggled.

She laughed too, and muttered something about the many boring years shed had to experiment on herself.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" my voice sounded throaty.

"It's me. Can I come in, or is this still a girls only thing?"

It was Charlie. I sighed in relief, he had decided to come. He had promised, but I had still been worried.

"Of course, Charlie. I've just finished." Alice answered for me.

He walked in, pretending to be casual. I saw him grimace at the many 'torture devices' on the shelf, the ones Alice had used to get me looking so good. And then he saw me, and stopped.

I waited for him to say something, but no sound escaped him lips.

Then, he gurgled.

"My… You… Wow. You look nice, Bella." His eyes ogled at the amount of skin I was baring.

Alice giggled from the corner, pleased at the way Charlie liked her handy work. "She looks more than just nice."

"I was getting at that, but my voice didn't seem to work." He smiled, moving towards me. He hugged me awkwardly, and said softly "I'm sorry if I made this harder than it should've been. I was worried, that's all. I think I've come to my senses now; you and Edward are in love. I should never have tried to stop that." I could hear his voice breaking. The last thing I wanted was for him to get emotional.

"It's alright dad. I'm just glad you're here."

"Ahem. It's time to go." Alice proclaimed, already at the door, holding it open for us.

I took a deep breath, and walked down the corridor, about to face Alice's Creation.


End file.
